The New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) today identified 271 "Early
Warning" schools so that they may be able to rectify the issues that
would put them in a "needs improvement" category next year,
under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The DOE intends
to assist such schools this year.

The "Early Warning" status for high schools in New Jersey is
based solely on the 2003 High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), which
serves as a high school graduation requirement in New Jersey. The number
of schools has been adjusted since Wednesday because preliminary data
has been further refined. Should the schools show the same results in
2004, they would be elevated to "needs improvement" status next
year in accordance with the NCLB Act.

"As we release this list, it is again important to view this in
a larger context," Commissioner Librera said. "These are not
failing schools. Many of these fine schools have been placed
in early warning because they did not meet criteria for one
or two indicators out of 40. That does not equate to failing
 not in the least. Any characterization that these schools are failing
is inaccurate and wrong."

"It is important to understand what we are doing and why we are
doing it," Commissioner Librera said. "We view the release of
this information as a service to the public in that it helps everyone
gain a broader understanding of what this means for our high schools.
We can think of no better way than to demonstrate that many of these schools
are in the Early Warning category because they missed the
mark on so few indicators."

Because this is the first time high school data have been reported for
NCLB purposes, the state has opted to institute an "Early Warning"
year. Schools are classified as "in need of improvement" after
two consecutive years of not meeting the established criteria. Schools
deemed "in need of improvement" must offer school choice, according
to the law.

Schools are judged each year by 40 indicators, according to the federal
law. Should a school miss the mark on one for two consecutive years, it
would be deemed "in need of improvement." The 40 indicators
are as follows: 95 percent participation rate in language arts literacy
and math tests, as well as meeting the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
benchmark target in the same subject areas. Data are then examined by
looking at 10 subgroups.

Out of 271 high schools in the state identified as "Early Warning"
schools, 85 of them were as a result of missing only one or two indicators
(about one-third, or 31 percent). Also, 149 schools out of 271 missed
the mark in less than four (4) indicators out of 40 (more than half, or,
55 percent).

In releasing the high school list today, the Commissioner reiterated
the DOE stance that, while the law on its face is important to help children
in programs that may not work, the implementation of the law is flawed
and the labels associated with the law are misleading. He also noted that
the strict timelines associated with the implementation cause more confusion.

"We will continue to work with the federal government because we
believe it is important to help each and every child as best we can,"
Commissioner Librera said. "But we will continue to keep an open
dialogue about the laws implementation. We believe it is wrong and
bad policy."

The Commissioner has said previously that many of the schools were placed
in "Early Warning" status because of HSPA results for special
education and LEP students.

"While we remain concerned about the strict timelines the federal
government has issued in reporting this information, we should, and we
do, view this occasion as an opportunity to find ways to better serve
diverse groups of students," Commissioner Librera said. "We
pledge our support and assistance as all schools work to develop and implement
their response to the challenges they face."

Attached is the list of "Early Warning" high schools, as well
as the number of indicators they made out of 40.